Wednesday, December 31, 2014

2014 Listicles: Reading Edition

Didn't know Shadowcat is Jewish

School's done, I can read againTim O’BrienThe Things They Carried“I want you to feel what I felt. I want you to know why story-truth is truer sometimes than happening truth.” (179)Alice MunroLives of Girls and WomenOk, I'm starting to get those jokes now.Ta-Nehisi Coates“The Case for Reparations,” Atlantic MonthlyEssential.

Michelle AlexanderThe New Jim Crow
Also essential, particularly in light of 2014. Understanding how the judicial, law enforcement and prison system all work together is necessary to begin having an intelligent conversation about our current state of affairs.

Octavia ButlerKindredI'm on board to read more Butler.Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieHalf of a Yellow SunI went on an Adichie stretch to get caught up. Half was my favorite, mostly for its attempt to capture a pretty under-reported (in the West) historic event. The bibliography is probably more important than the book, though.Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieAmericanah“In America, tribalism is alive and well. There are four kinds--class, ideology, region, and race...Second, ideology. Liberals and conservatives. They don’t merely disagree on political issues, each side believes the other is evil. Intermarriage is discouraged and on the rare occasion that it happens, is considered remarkable…” (227-8)Chimamanda Ngozi AdichiePurple HibiscusStanley “Tookie” WilliamsBlue Rage, Black RedemptionWilliams is filled with contradictions. Survival is a vested interest, yet his resolve is self-destructive. There is an explicit understanding of the circumstances that allows him to stay in the cycle of violence, in spite of the extraordinary opportunities he is offered. Preston LauterbachThe Chitlin’ Circuit and the Road to Rock ‘n’ RollA bit too casual for my tastes, but essential subject matter.Glenn GreenwaldNo Place to HideThe director’s commentary to the NSA leaks.X-Men: Volume 6, Days of Future Past, Phoenix Rising, Dark Phoenix SagaForgot I never sat and read all these books at once because I could never afford to as a kid. X-Men: God Loves, Man KillsWhy wasn't this made into a movie? X-Men: Fall of the Mutants, vol. 1 & 2We don’t need to talk about the main X- titles -- we need to talk about New Mutants. What was the thinking behind this title? I take that back. The branding is very clear. It’s just a poor and bizarre choice. If the known demographic of the X- titles is pre-teen and capable of grappling with weighty, angsty issues, why would a teen-directed title like New Mutants deal with fluff like clothes and dating… through the voice of a middle-aged writer? What a bizarre title. Now I can see clearly what I disliked about this title as a kid.X-Men: Mutant MassacreThis one was simply about nostalgia.Longshot Totally didn’t live up to my expectation. I loved the character. And I long admired Arthur Adams. There are a lot of interesting, weird turns in his back story (and I definitely want to dig into Ann Nocenti’s other work), but I’m kinda glad I never had the dough to get this mini-series. It’s a bit disorganized and light. I suppose that’s the character’s MO? The Avengers Epic Collection, Volume 9, 1976-1977, The Final ThreatWhoa, pretty glad I was into the X- titles. Kinda lame in comparison.The Walking Dead: Compendium 2Reinforces my feeling that I'm glad the show and books are diverging, even if only slightly. The different storylines and pacing are form appropriate.Bob NewhartI Shouldn’t Even Be Doing This!